SUMMER RE-UP: Do or Die

In the Venn diagram depicting Randy Weston’s influences and stylistic affinities, there would be overlaps with Monk, Ellington, Abdullah Ibrahim, Morocco, Tangier, Nigeria. And a large part of it would remain Weston himself, unshadowed and unaccompanied. Blues to Africa lives up to its title, evoking Brooklyn playgrounds and Marrakech marketplaces with equal ease. Weston’s stark tunes are complex in conception, organically merging jazz harmonies and African rhythms with the occasional passage of bracing dissonance.

Blues to Africa was among the first wave of releases on the Arista imprint Freedom, which generated a phenomenal string of great jazz albums in the 1970s. Remember when the majors supported adventurous jazz? Us neither. Weston’s site has a very detailed page devoted to this album (and more), including the original liner notes; you can also stream snippets from each of the disk’s eight tracks.

Where?

What?

An mp-free jazz blog focusing on rare or out-of-print music. We generally publish once a week. Songs will be available for a limited time, and are for evaluation purposes only.
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